She jerked a thumb at the line where I saw Aidan and Peter watching me just as closely as the other guys, though hunger sat side by side with worry. I found I was smiling before I could even think about it, my feet skipping across the floor as I ran to them.
“Flick…”
I wasn’t sure which one of them said my name, all ache and love, but I threw myself into their arms, and they closed them around me.
“God,” Aidan said, burying his nose in my hair. “How long’s it been? It feels like days.”
“Too long,” Peter agreed. “How’s it going?” His eyes raked along the group of men. “Have they been behaving?”
“Yeah, it's been fine,” I said, swallowing as that steadily flickering fire of fear spiked for a second. It was as if noticing it made it flare to life. The two of them looked at me in concern. “It was always going to be hard, but I’m doing my exercises and getting through.”
“Good, love,” Peter said, smoothing my hair back.
“Well, I better get back to it. Otherwise, you’ll all go hungry,” I said, going to pull away.
“Not what I’m hungry for,” he rumbled in response, his hand sliding down to my butt.
“Damn, don’t say shit like that,” Aidan said. “She smells so fuckin’ good.”
“Good?” I spluttered. “More likely of dirty dishes.”
“And horny girl,” he said, pressing a sweet kiss to my lips.
“Flick!” I turned around to see Maisie standing there. “Grab the last of the trays, and then you can take a break with your mates.”
“Shit, I’m sooo sorry…” I said as I approached her.
“Pfft…” she said with a smile. “We all remember what it’s like to be newly mated. Bit of an occupational hazard working here. I’ve seen many girls here find their pack.” She looked a little misty eyed at that. “Now, someone said you might be adding to yours? What’re you looking for? Big and muscly? Though you already have that. What about someone a little more streamlined, if you catch my drift? Or adventurous?” She waggled her eyebrows at me.
I just blinked as my boss tried to hook me up with several strange men, then ended up walking back into the kitchen and ferrying out trays until they were all distributed.
“Come here,” Maisie said when I came back in, finding that was the last of them. “Let’s get rid of this.” She untied my apron and tossed it into the dirty clothes basket. “Now…” She pushed my hair back over my shoulders, pinched my cheeks gently and then rubbed them, then stood back and surveyed her handiwork. “Beautiful!” she said.
“Stop man handling the girl,” Sheila said.
“I know what I’m doing,” Maisie shot back. “I got you catching Nerida’s eye, didn’t I?”
Sheila snorted at that, then said, “Well, she’s out there now. Can I go on break?”
“Off you both go, but dinner prep when you get back, alright?”
“So, Nerida,” I said as we walked through the doorway, feeling like I needed to act like a normal person and make small talk. “Is she your girlfriend?”
“She’s my sun and moon,” Sheila said dreamily. “Come and meet her. Your boys will wait for you until the end of time.”
She grabbed my hand in hers, dragging me along. I shot a frazzled look across the crowded hall where the guys had taken a seat in a secluded corner. Their heads jerked up as they worked out where I was headed, then they picked up their plates to follow.
“Here she is!” Sheila bounced up to a table where a very pretty girl with long tumbling brown hair sat next to several guys. Nerida’s eyes transformed when she looked up and saw her love. I felt a
lmost uncomfortable about being a spectator to it, something incredibly intimate and intense passing between the two of them when they locked eyes.
“Well,” Sheila said in a breathy little tone. “Nerida, this is Flick. Flick, this is my Nerida.”
I watched her bounce over to Nerida’s side and wiggle her way into position beside her on the bench seat.
“Hi, Flick,” Nerida said, wrapping her arm around the other girl’s waist. “Take a seat.”
“Hi,” I said belatedly and slipped onto the empty bench.